Years ago, I wrote an article about being a CEO who lived in a Housing Board flat.

At the time, I was running a Temasek-portfolio company called Advanced MedTech, which today has more than $500 million in sales and over 1,000 employees globally.

I have since moved into a portfolio career chairing companies in Singapore and overseas.

I still live in the same HDB flat that I have been at for the last 27 years. And not upgrading my home has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Our flat and neighbourhood community have been an anchor as my jobs took the family to Europe and subsequently, the US.

No matter where we have been in the world, our two boys have always identified our flat in Singapore as home.

This has been a ballast for us, especially now that they are studying overseas after their national service stints.

The anchor that gave our family stability in the years that we were overseas now serves to ground the boys on where to return to after they are done with school.

My widowed mother lives three floors below me in the same block. We have family dinners several times a week when the boys are home, three generations sitting down together over a meal.

It is particularly precious to witness the relationship that my mother has developed with my sons. She raised them when they were young; they spent most of their afternoons at her home after school, doing homework or getting up to mischief.

Today, my sons continue to act like puppies around their grandma, hugging her and holding her hand, even though both are in their 20s.

When our elder boy returns from Sydney, he feels that he is truly home only after he has had a home-cooked meal and welcome-home hug from his grandma.

For me, after sitting through day-long meetings in global boardrooms discussing technology businesses and turnarounds, I am relieved to be able to return home to the familiar void deck and neighbourhood coffee shop for my kopi C kosong.

The Singapore Airlines in-flight announcement – “to all Singaporeans and residents of Singapore, a warm welcome home” – becomes real when a sip of rich Nanyang coffee, accompanied by a splash of evaporated milk, hits the tongue.

I believe that being able to enjoy a kopi like that, instead of feeling compelled to live a latte lifestyle, has given our family more freedom.

Not chasing the next condo or luxury car, or engaging in endless “status-maxxing”, has allowed us to escape a vicious circle that seems to consume much of Singapore life.

Among our friends, we have observed that the treadmill of consumption generally leads to perpetual striving and a lack of satisfaction. Some assume that a bigger house and more expensive lifestyle provides security, but in reality, it creates insecurity.

Financial obligations limit choice, especially during the middle-aged years, which are often considered the time for people to accumulate wealth for retirement.

Choosing a simple life has freed me to spend more time with my children and support causes that I care about. It has allowed me to walk away from a monthly pay cheque, because the mortgage on our flat was paid up years ago and our living costs continue to be modest.

Childhood developmental research shows us that when kids are secure, they are more adventurous. When they feel safer, they spend less energy worrying, and more energy on curiosity, play and exploration.

Living well within my means provides the same sense of security. I have found that needing less has afforded me the flexibility to be more adventurous with my career, to explore more without putting the family at risk.

Investing in early-stage high-risk technology start-ups and taking on appointments on education boards with little to no financial compensation are examples of being more adventurous with my career.

It’s great to be able to spend time mentoring students and young founders without needing to watch the clock or think about how I will pay our monthly household bills.

In the almost two years since I retired, I have discovered that the impact of one’s actions can be multiplied.

A small act of mentorship today can shape a student who goes on to lead a youth movement to make Singapore better.

A pointed conversation with a burnt-out founder can help promising technology find its way into hospitals and improve the lives of patients around the world.

Such returns might not be immediate or even guaranteed, but they could accumulate over time.

As I am the son of an immigrant, true satisfaction comes not from what is owned, but from being able to give back to a country that has given our family everything.

Having time to spend on mentoring, investing and teaching is a privilege I do not take lightly.

In the end, what makes an HDB flat a home are the enduring relationships that are formed in the community.

It’s my son assisting an aged neighbour at 10pm with her burst water pipe, helping a neighbour’s child write an appeal to get into the university of her choice, or bumping into familiar faces at the coffee shop and having them ask if the boys are home from NS or have left again for university overseas.

The relationships we have with our neighbours are worth far more than any upgrade in real estate, and they get richer the longer we stay.

When I wrote years ago about living in an HDB flat, I felt that simple living was about avoiding excess. Since retiring, I have come to understand that it is really about preserving enough freedom to become useful to others.

When I look back on my life, I hope to be able to say that I have lived for relationships and to make an impact, not to accumulate possessions.

For all the talk about status-maxxing and upgrading, I remain proud to live in the same HDB flat I bought as a young first-time home owner.

It has given me far more than a place to live. It has also given me a meaningful life.